Just curious... I've not done a lot of square wedding cakes. The bride has "no preference" and wants to know what is more common...

Having a 2 inch pan size difference (14-12-10-etc)

or

Having a 4 inch pan size difference (16-12-8-etc)

What do you usually do (or get requests for)?

I honestly like the 4 inch difference its more dramatic and looks great for square cakes , it also leaves more room for flowers or other decoration if you use them. Most of my customers don't seem to care to much , they just tell me to do whatever I think is best.

As for being more common I think most people stick with the 2 inch difference in pan sizes.

I guess I would have to say....it depends on how many servings. No one has ever requested pan sizes, they ask for cake "to serve xxx amount of people".

That said, if I am understanding correctly, going 2 inch diff between tiers only gives you 1 inch to play with as far as the space from one "ledge" to the next. So, 4 inch diff, which gives you 2 inches to play with, is more desirable for me, more room to place decorations, place flowers, etc. But it all depends on how many servings are needed mainly.

I am looking to do 200 servings. Her request is very simple/basic... square tiers, stacked, covered in white fondant, and ribbon (she's supplying) that match her wedding colors around the bottoms of each tier. Possibly adding some real flowers (also being supplied to me) along the bottom as well.

I am not trying to steal the thread but is there a rule on the size between tiers if the squares in the tiers are not all going to be pointed in the same direction??

I don't think there are any "rules" for anything really ... perhaps some "best practices" but it's all about what you want and/or your client wants. I would think that if they aren't going to point in the same direction, that you would want more size difference rather than less (i.e. 4 instead of 2)

I always keep 3" gap between the tiers. But 2" does work well too!

I definitely want 4" between sizes.....14, 10, 6. To me it is much more balanced.
I have seen some w/a 2" difference that don't look too bad but again, I much prefer the 4"s.

I will be doing my first wedding cake for a niece. She just specified square for about 200 people. I bought a square set yesterday that included 16", 12", & 8". which should give me 232 servings according to Wilton. Should I include a 6" for the bride to keep or do it seperately? I haven't gotten a 6" square pan yet and think the 3 tier might travel better than 4. I like the idea of having 4" around each layer.

I would leave that up to the bride... some like having the extra for themselves while others aren't interested.


Thanks everyone who voted... it looks like I should go with 4 inch!